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We’re finally experiencing a bit of spring weather here in Ottawa after a long bitter winter. But it’s going to take some more time before our local crops are ready for fresh eating – apart from maple syrup of course. I’ve been finding it a bit tough to get motivated in the kitchen over the last two weeks – partly because there are no exciting fresh new ingredients, but maybe also trying to enjoy the warm sun, being busy with other activities, and still a bit of burn-out after Easter weekend. Our big local farmer’s market has a fantastic “What’s in Season Resource” and it looks like we’ll be seeing a few items coming in the next few weeks. Is it just me or is anyone else feeling a little uninspired at this time of year?

I did mention maple syrup and it is one of my favourites. Last year we went out to a local sugar bush to test the fresh product right from the trees and get some goodies from the kitchen and gift shop. At the gift shop I picked up some maple mustard, but I wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it back home in the kitchen though. Luckily I had a rare brilliant moment where I didn’t use a recipe and used it to cook up some tofu. Mega tasty! And good for sandwiches, salads, whatever! I made some more of that this past week and used it to top off these salads that we brought for lunch (in out super cool salad containers)!

Only one official recipe tested this week, but it was a great success:

On Thursday I made Protein Powerhouse Veggie Burgers from Veggie and the Beast Feast. It definitely checked off all of the good veggie burger boxes (good flavour and stayed together well). I couldn’t find beluga lentils at my local “super”store so I subbed in brown lentils and it still seemed to work fine. I forgot to pick up the roasted peppers so we didn’t try the sauce this time around, but would definitely make it again with that addition. It’s also the first recipe I’ve tried from Katie’s blog and I rank it as a success and now need to raid her archives!